James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Wedding dresses haven't always been white. They have come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. The idea that a wedding dress should be white—and worn only once—got started in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to Queen Victoria.

Here are two vintage dresses that I sketched in watercolor and water-soluble colored pencil. The dresses date from 1889 and 1895. Look at those leg o' mutton sleeves on that one on the right: that young lady has got some excellent attitude.

2 comments:

Mr Gurney, your watercolors are for me of great inspiration and provide a lot of motivation in practicing. these days I am using a moleskine watercolor sketchbook like yours and i find it very practical. the only con i found is that i bends a lot when applying washes, just like it would do unstretched watercolor paper. May it be that i'm using too much water?

Emanuele, sometimes it helps to paint the same amount of water on the back of the paper that you put on the front, and hold the book flat as it dries. It should flatten out when the book is closed on the shelf.